


Cruising for Trouble

by ladyfeather



Series: Assorted AU files [1]
Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: M/M, Yamane Ayano
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-12 22:25:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4497039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyfeather/pseuds/ladyfeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takaba gets a great idea that isn't as great as he thinks.<br/>Story is AU, timeline is fairly soon after Akihito realizes that he has feelings for Asami. Consider the cruise ship episode from chapter one as a prelude to this, without the infamous disc. Fei does not appear in this timeline. Maybe later. Maybe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cruising for Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Small elements cross from Ikoku Irokoi Romantan | A Foreign Love Affair, also written by Yamane Ayano  
> I may have taken some liberties with the Japanese law regarding gambling, but then, how many of you read these stories to learn Japanese legalities?
> 
> Characters are property of Yamane Ayano; she graciously allows us to play with them.

**Cruising for Trouble**

Or

**The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men….**

 

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but hindsight always shows up those obviously glaring flaws that are overlooked when you get deeply entangled in a once in a lifetime grand scheme. And this was one of the worst snafus he'd ever been caught in. He was locked in, two guards outside the door, with no easy way to escape. And if he could get out, how many good places to hide were on a cruise ship? And even if he did manage to get away, despite finding a hiding spot, it wouldn't be for long because Asami would have his goons find him and put him back – with a few more guards, probably this time inside the suite too. At least it was one of the best suites on the ship; it was identical to the one the owner of the ship had.

They had even taken his clothing as an extra measure to keep him contained in the suite. Clad in only his camo underwear Akihito flopped back on the luxurious king sized bed with its down comforter and silk sheets, trying to figure a way out of this mess. At least the view from the suite was unobstructed; he could see all the details of the Japanese coastline while relaxing on the bed.

 

**And how exactly had he gotten himself into this sorrowful predicament you ask?**

 

It had all started about four months ago – he'd gotten the tip of a lifetime from a regular informant he used. It seemed that one of the local ruling yakuza family heads had acquired a small cruise ship, now renamed the Alba Dorata [Golden Sunrise], and for now was planning to use it as his personal yacht for a _few_ of his closest friends – mind you the ship could host a few hundred people handily. His informant had somehow seen the passenger list for the maiden voyage and from the names he remembered it was a veritable who's who of the ruling politicians, highly influential corporate CEOs, and the local yakuza groups. If you were on that list you **were** one of the background VIPs that ruled Tokyo with an iron fist and controlled its government.

What wasn't advertised, but widely known none-the-less, was the fact he would be running it as a gambling ship, still illegal by Japanese law if the ship was in Japanese waters. But guests aboard a private vessel could basically do whatever they wished; it was a 'friendly' gathering after all. The passengers were listed as guests of the owner, even though they had paid a steep price for the luxury of being on the maiden voyage. They were also guaranteed to lose even more in the many gambling dens that were running full force on the ship.

The Japanese as a people loved to gamble. They had manipulated the laws controlling Pachinko to actually allow it to be a form of gambling; the lawmakers hadn't checked the wording too well on that one. The same thing was done with horse racing, betting was allowed. The Diet members, seemingly almost a third of whom were on the passenger list, were still debating whether to allow cruise ships to operate their gambling salons while in Japanese waters. This would allow the Japanese citizens to take a short cruise down the coast and gamble to their hearts content. Like most nations, Japan had the overwhelming urge to monitor and control their citizens' love affair with gambling and not let them become addicts. But the latest figures did point to an increase in the number of people either attending or needing to attend Gambler's Anonymous.

While debating their moral standing crisis the Japanese government had taken quite a bit of flak from the major cruise lines, and now those cruise lines were threatening to discontinue about half of their tours to Japan in retaliation. It may not have sounded like much to the average person but the billions of yen Japan, and more specifically Tokyo, made from those tourist tours were quite frankly a major source of their budget's revenue. Many projects would have to be scrapped should that threat became real. And no one wanted their pet project scuttled, so deals had to be made to ensure that the bill would be passed.

That's where Akihito's mind went into hyper drive – that cruise would be an excellent place to make the shady deals necessary to gain support to pass this bill. That many lawmakers and law breakers in one place couldn't be just a coincidence. He could make a mint on what he could ferret out on the cruise, he knew he had to get on that ship, and he also knew just how to do so. He'd get hired on as staff – they were advertising for staff positions – a profession that had used before when he was after a scoop.

He went to the local hiring agencies and put in the fake résumé for kitchen help he had created to get hired previously on a cruise ship. Most of the places he listed were no longer in business which made it difficult to verify past employment but made excellent resources. If he were asked he'd just shrug and say he had the worst luck with the small businesses and he decided to go with the larger, more reliable employers, like hotels and cruise ships.

He discussed the idea he had with his editor and he agreed that it would be a good opportunity to get some much needed dirt on the shady politicians. He allowed him to take the position offered along with a strict warning to keep himself safe. They discussed the possibilities that could crop up during the assignment and both were excited to see the outcome. Thus, he would be working under cover for a few months, which would limit his going out on too many solo assignments; Mitarai was gloating that he had the choice assignments, not realizing the plum Akihito had thought he had landed.

On board he had been given the position of handling the dishes used for the meals; making sure that there were always enough for a full dinner ready to use at any moment, enough plates heated to serve all of the guest capacity of the dining salon at one time, clean glassware and flatware to go with the place settings There was training being given on how they wanted the kitchen run, what exactly each person's duties were, the names of the immediate supervisors, and where to go in an emergency. Everyone was also cross-trained in one additional position in case they needed someone extra due to an illness or a severe overcrowding at mealtime. He would also be required to live aboard the ship once the training was concluded, since, when you think about it, once the ship sailed there was no way to live anywhere else.

He had finished his training and the cruise was scheduled to start in about two weeks. At least he didn't have to explain his long hours and come up with a reason for being away for two weeks to Ryuichi – he had left for a European business trip two weeks ago and wouldn't be back for another two weeks at least. He hadn't gotten to see the full itinerary for the trip but he did see almost every European country on the list before Ryuichi snatched it away from him with a warning to mind his own business, mentioning something about children keeping their noses out of adult business.

He had finished the training for the kitchen work and had been selected by the kitchen manager Sakazaki-san to be a stand-by for the salon waiters; he expressed to Akihito (with an abundant dose of sleaze) that he felt that with his looks he would be an asset in the dining salon, and possibly serving the private suites. The vibes he was getting off the man were more the lecherous type; he had a feeling that it was a different kind of service he was to offer in the private rooms. The man was slime – he had seen him unabashedly feeling up the female staff in the kitchen area and a few of the male help also received the same treatment.

After witnessing his blatant sexual advances Akihito made sure to keep himself in the company of several other employees as much as possible since he didn't trust the man not to try something – he had a few similar situations happen to him before and he didn't relish a repeat. All he needed to do is have to fight off a rapist boss while trying to get the scoop of the century.

His hours weren't too bad since he had been assigned the dinner shift, working from noon to midnight, but the workload was heavy. You were too busy to notice the time. The lunch crowd paced itself between 10AM and 4PM, where the smaller dining hall was more heavily used than the larger, more formal dining salon. He was allowed one day off a week – Wednesday, but if they needed an extra hand or two that could be cancelled.

He was housed in what could only be classified as an overgrown closet; it couldn't be more than seven or eight feet wide and at the most twelve feet long, and that included the bunk area. The bunk beds were on the far wall from the door with a small drawer unit built at the foot of the unit and another unit built beside the lower bunk. There was a desk and an upright locker for each person, positioned on opposite sides of the room with a small refrigerator and a few more drawer units scattered in the remaining open wall area. The room was anything but spectacular; open floor space was negligible – postage stamps were larger.

The door to the bathroom was placed to the left of the entrance. Once opening the door the sink was on the left wall, the toilet straight ahead, and the corner shower was on the right wall. The whole room looked to be maybe three by four feet total, and everything looked miniaturized. Even the mirror over the sink looked more like a small makeup mirror. The bathroom was the tiniest thing he had ever seen – there was no way two people could use the room at the same time, even with one in the shower. Behind the entrance door was a full length mirror; so there was at least somewhere that the employees could check their appearance before merging with the ship's guests.

The room was for two people but he hadn't met his roommate yet even though his belongings were here. He had brought only one small suitcase with him but built into it was a lockable compartment where he kept his cameras. Both were small and easily hidden for when he was out scouting for some juicy pictures. All the crew rooms had access to the internet and had wall-mounted, flat screen TVs that were positioned to been seen from the bunks. Personal computers were allowed to be brought on-board so he would be able to use his computer on his off-time to upload the incriminating images to his private outside source and his editor's server.

#=#=#=#=#

Just before the ship was to set sail the staff was introduced to the owner of the ship. Oumi Ranmaru was the third generation leader of the Oumi-gumi, one of the most influential yakuza groups in Tokyo. His reach was extending outward to areas outside of the Tokyo area, and at a rapid growth rate. He had heard of the man; his reputation was ruthless in the handling of any opposition. To a certain degree he reminded him of Asami. He also introduced a foreigner, Albert Valentino, as honorary captain of the ship for its maiden voyage. He himself was the owner and operator of a cruise line that sailed from the Roman port of Civitavecchia in Italy. Heavy rumor had it that they were lovers, but that wasn't a question that he considered asking.

He has spent most of the first week of the cruise acquainting himself with the various passengers on the ship and finding the various private meeting places he felt would be used on the ship. He was out of luck with those that used their rooms for the meetings but there were others that found a quiet corner in the lounge or the other communal rooms to discuss their private dealings. The casino was a popular spot, as were the smaller dining halls. Some even had meetings outside on the deck, hiding their illicit dealings while hiding by the lifeboats or other shaded corners of the ship. He was astonished that every evening he could find at least 2 or 3 of the public figures huddled up somewhere secluded in deep conversation with a yakuza member. He took identifying photos and kept a mental list of the major officials that would be hurt most by being exposed. The only photos that he had sent on so far were just of the major political figures that were on the ship – the ones he suspected of attempting to solicit a bribe. He did add some shots of certain VIPs with their mistresses; he knew that none of them were married to those top-heavy women that could fit into those low cut, mid-thigh, skin-tight dresses and 4 inch heels.

That list had been no lie; between all the Diet members, leaders of the local yakuza groups, police officials, corporate CEOs, and local government politicians there wasn’t any room for normal everyday people. With all the power he saw he was surprised that Asami wasn't in the middle of the pack. He suddenly shuddered at the thought – what if he **_was_** here? No, no, not possible; he's in Europe wining and dining with their special brand of elite mobsters. He was probably booked in Europe and unable to make the cruise, but that made it a big advantage for him!

Since his shift ended at midnight it worked well with his true motive for being aboard. Very few of the politicians had any dealings during the day; they seemed to prefer to have their furtive meetings in the darkest hours of the night – perhaps feeling that the darkness would conceal their illegal actions. He did carry a camera with him while he was on duty, just in case he should stumble on a clandestine meeting between any less than scrupulous persons. He could always use the excuse that he was going to photograph the scenery as mementos of the cruise.

#=#=#=#=#

Asami was seated off to the side of the lounge, in the shadows, along with Kirishima. He had just been informed of some dangerous actions that were happening aboard this ship and was contemplating what to do about it. As they sat enjoying a refreshing drink they were witnessing a transaction between one of the more corrupt Diet members and a member of a small but up-and-coming yakuza group. After blatantly showing the Diet member the contents of the briefcase in full view of the public the yakuza leader placed the briefcase of money between the two men; when the DIet member stood up to leave he picked it up. It seemed that the fact they were on a yakuza-run ship made them less cautious of common safety procedures. Asami shook his head in disbelief, commenting to Kirishima that both of them deserved to be taken down. The deal had just finished going down and the yakuza member was also on his way out when Asami noticed movement just outside the room on the walkway. Having just received the troubling information from Kirishima he had a sinking feeling exactly whom it was that was the cause of the trouble, and he was most likely standing just outside the window.

Asami looked toward Kirishima and motioned toward the elevator as he stood up. With anger in his voice he added, "I may have gotten my wish. I think I've found our troublemaker, wait over there." and proceeded to make his way to one of the doors further away from where Takaba stood. Since Takaba's attention was on the men involved in the transaction he had photographed he didn't see Asami come up behind him. He jumped when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder that spun him around and an angry voice that wanted to know what he was doing spying on the guests on the ship.

As he adjusted to the darkness on the deck he knew he was had. Akihito was shocked beyond belief when he realized exactly who it was that had found him. He quickly tried to slip the camera into his pocket while slowly moving away from the man. "Wha-what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on a lengthy European trip, I saw your list!"

With a harsh look in his eyes and an evil smirk he smoothly replied, "You only saw the first page. I've had the invitation to this cruise for months; I wouldn't miss it since Oumi-san is a very important colleague and confidant of mine. Now, back to my original question, what are you doing here? I've been informed that some rather suspicious photographs have been sent to a certain editor – who just happens to be your boss." He swiftly reached over and removed the small camera from Akihito's pocket.

Akihito was furious – his hopes for a sensational story were definitely dashed. If he had already seen the photos he sent he knew that they had been intercepted and would never see the light of day.

Without waiting for a response from Takaba Asami grabbed his arm and started moving toward the elevator that was located in the central hallway of the room he had just been in.

Luckily Takaba didn't try to resist; he knew how angry Asami was at the moment and if he tried anything he would not avoid causing a scene. With half the people on the ship being yakuza or a close equivalent they might even help Asami. Kirishima was already waiting at the elevator, holding the door open.

#=#=#=#=#

Once they had arrived at Asami's suite he roughly pushed Takaba onto the bed. "Be happy that it was me that caught you. Oumi—san is quite viscous when dealing with those that spy on his activities. As it is I'm going to be hard pressed as to why I am incarcerating one of his employees. Perhaps I'll tell him that you stole something from me. He will be angry and may want to confront you but I don't think he'll kill you – at least not right away. He's not very fond of thieves and prefers torture to a quick and easy death."

Takaba turned his head, refusing to look at Asami. He replied in a condescending tone, "I doubt he's that cruel. Nobody can outdo you in that line."

Asami grabbed him by the arms and turned him around, anger in his eyes. "Don't underestimate him; he didn't get where he is today by being soft. He's been in control of the Oumi-gumi for less than ten years but he has a hell of a lot of experience." In a lower voice and with a bit of a sinister tone he added, "It's even rumored that he cold-heartedly murdered his ex-wife after she tried to kill him." He added in a sing-song tone, "She's never been seen since he divorced her."

Takaba looked into Asami's eyes and got the impression that it wasn't a rumor, and that Asami knew the truth of the matter. That alone rattled him to the bone.

Takaba shook off Asami's hold and moved to flop on the bed, muttering something that Asami couldn't hear.

"When we reach port you will be arrested and transported to Tokyo, where you will be charged with theft. I'll have Kirishima arrange bail in case I can't convince the police to drop the charges since it will be your first offense, at least as an adult."

Takaba quickly turned over and started to argue the point but Asami quickly silenced him. "This has to be done to appease Oumi-san and keep your true relationship with me out of the incident, although Oumi-san knows. We have few secrets from each other. With as many powerful yakuza as are on board I doubt you would live 24 hours should they find out who and what you are. I'm surprised that they didn't sniff you out before this. Don't worry, I'll manage to save your ass once again, but this is getting to be a bad habit of yours. When are you going to start thinking things out before you jump head first into dangerous situations? And how are you going to repay me for all my trouble?"

Asami had moved onto the bed and hovered over Takaba, his hands were wandering down Takaba's sides, heading for the waistband of his slacks. "Well, my little delinquent?"

Takaba squirmed, trying desperately to get away from the exploring fingers, but to no avail; Asami knew that Takaba would attempt to get away and painfully gripped his upper arms. "You are going nowhere but under me tonight, so don't even try to leave this bed. You owe me at least that much for all the trouble you've caused, trouble that only I can straighten out."

The hold on him was too tight and he expected to see finger bruises the next day. He knew that there was no escaping Asami's anger, and to a point he realized that he had put both himself and Asami in a difficult position. He would man up and take his punishment.

 

**And that takes us up to Takaba's current dilemma of being locked in the suite in only his underwear. He should have been happy that Asami left him that.**

 

When Takaba was finally released from the police station there was a car waiting for him. Kirishima pulled him into the car and ordered the driver to head to Sion.

Takaba was angry. "Now what does that bastard want?"

Kirishima glared at Takaba. "I think that is the wrong tone to take; he could have left you rot in jail. He managed to get the charges dropped, so your record is clean, at least the adult one. The juvie one is quite a different story isn't it? No wonder you're so good at getting into trouble."

Takaba just 'harrumphed' and glared out the tinted window, trying his best to ignore the man.

When they arrived at the Sion office he noticed that all his belongings that had been on the ship were now piled beside the sofa. He saw his computer there and just knew that everything had been erased. All his hard work for nothing – and there was so much incriminating evidence that he had amassed; why hadn't he sent it nightly?

Asami looked up as Kirishima and Takaba entered and quipped, "Did you enjoy your stay at the expense of the Japanese taxpayers? I assume they fed you well and you don't look like a victim of police brutality. Someone got lucky I guess. Several of those officers were on that cruise."

Takaba just glared at him. "Why are all my things here?"

Asami gave him a hardened look. "Would you rather I left them on the ship to be found by persons unnamed? There were some very interesting photographs on your computer that wouldn't sit well with certain yakuza groups. Should I have let them have copies?"

Takaba glared but couldn't really argue the point. He flopped heavily onto the sofa, taking a mental note to see if everything was actually there.

Asami watched him as he eyed his property. "I've gone over the pictures you took while on the cruise. Yes I deleted them. But I still have your camera if that is what you are looking for."

"Yeah, I noticed that it was missing. I bet you wiped that too, damn bastard! That would have given me enough money to live on for months. Now I have to go back to slinking around dark, smelly warehouses for lowlife politicians and yakuza."

Asami studied Takaba for several minutes before speaking again. "I will do you a favor, but not because you deserve one. It's more to my benefit to do this. I was watching the payoff that you were photographing just before I caught you. I will allow you to publish those photos, but only after you disguise the surrounding area. I don't want anyone to know that the photos were taken on that ship. It would cause a great deal of trouble with the underworld, possibly even a minor bloody skirmish or two. It would also put Oumi-san in a bad light, and I personally don't want that. Do you understand?"

Takaba was shocked; to hear such words come from Asami wasn't something he ever expected to hear. "Why do you want those pictures published? I know they are the only ones that I managed to get before you caught me, but why use them?"

"As I said, I was watching the whole payoff and both parties were unbelievably stupid in their handling of the incident. Neither man checked for witnesses or any of the ship's staff to be in viewing distance. They had to know that the staff was just harmless civilians," Asami paused then stated, "other than you of course. Only the passengers were corrupt enough not to worry about."

He moved to rest on the front of the desk, facing Takaba. "That yakuza group is getting a bit too big for its britches and needs to be pushed down a notch or two, and the official is accepting bribes from almost every group that attended that cruise. His only interests are his income. He has done little that the groups expected of him. If I can't publicly pull him down one of the groups will assassinate him and no one will know exactly how dirty he was. They may still kill him once he's discredited, just to keep him from spilling his guts about the groups he dealt with. But no matter what – he is a danger, both to the underworld and to the general well-being of Tokyo and even all of Japan."

Takaba paled at what Asami was describing to him. This was the world Asami lived in, the rules he played by. By tracking down these rogue criminals and politicians Takaba was now becoming enmeshed in their world. By hunting these people he had to play by their rules now. Either that or he would suffer the ultimate end – a slow and painful death. He had been so close to this epiphany for so long but he never realized it. All the work that he had managed to get printed was due to it being necessary to the well-being of Asami's corporations and businesses.

With a gulp and a low voice he asked, "When do you want this done?" Suddenly he wasn't all that thrilled to receive the bonus he would get for the pictures.

Asami spoke seriously. "If you can have them done by tomorrow morning it would be best." He then handed him his camera.

Takaba nodded, saying he could do it. Picking up his belongings he headed out to go home. Asami had one of his men escort him home, to make sure he got there safely.

#=#=#=#=#

As he sat at his computer editing the photographs he thought to himself, _success has a steep price in this field_. Never had he felt this disconsolate working on a successful assignment. He didn't think he would feel good about what he was doing ever again. There were too many strings attached that one couldn't see, too many consequences that weren't visible.

 _I guess I'll be successful now, happy me,_ he thought as a tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I may have gotten creative with some of the Japanese laws but I did research the cruise ship's crew quarters, mainly to sate my own curiosity. The employees had best like their roommates because they are stuck with them for the length of the cruise. And a 12 hour day, 7 days a week ain't no picnic either.


End file.
